SAN ANTONIO – He's been called a “digital guru,” and he smiles when he thinks that a week ago, he was on stage with President-elect Donald Trump.
"I didn't know whether to cry or laugh or be happy, so I just stayed busy," Brad Parscale said.
What started with a website ended with the world watching. Brad Parscale and his firm, Giles/Parscale, first built the Trump for President page. Eventually, Parscale earned the campaign’s trust and was making daily visits to Trump Plaza and riding on the Trump campaign plane. When standing on the stage with the president-elect, Parscale said he thought about his hometown.
"I fought hard to have this operation in San Antonio. There were times when they wanted to move it all to New York, and I fought for it to be here. I wanted my staff, and I wanted the people of San Antonio, to win from this. And I take a lot of pride in this city. I always have," Parscale said.
KSAT followed the Trinity University graduate at the Republican National Convention. Parscale said he had been the first person to tell Eric Trump that his father had won the election. He said the Friday before the election, he knew that data pointed to a Trump triumph.
"I used data in a way that nobody else in Republican Party history had," Parscale said.
It has been a historic and profitable ride. According to numbers from the Federal Election Commission, Giles/Parscale made more than $90 million from the campaign.
"These are everyday people that went to Texas State, UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio), Trinity, Incarnate Word. They all stepped up, regardless of their partisan or how they felt to show the talent here, and I think that's what San Antonio should be proud of," Parscale said.
Social media, television purchases and even campaign trips were driven by Parscale’s firm’s data. He has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal and has done national television interviews, but he said the reason he took the job was more professional than partisan, even in a polarizing election.
"I did this for my city and for my company, and we're a business that helps people get their message out. And I believe this is a country where everybody has their right to an opinion,” Parscale said.
Parscale describes Trump as a “great man.” He also talks about the national media and his problems with it, and what’s next for him in his unedited interview below.